Bert Kaempfert born 16 October 1923

Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Kämpfert; 16 October 1923, Hamburg, Germany – 21 June 1980, Majorca, Spain) was a German orchestra leader and songwriter, often referred to as the "father of easy listening,". He wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, such as "Strangers in the Night" and "Spanish 
Eyes". Although he came on the scene much later than Ray Conniff or Percy Faith, Kaempfert was just as prolific and successful during his fifteen-year career with Decca. Altogether he wrote about 400 titles and 700 arrangements. More than 150 Million records had been sold until he died.

He was born in Hamburg, Germany - where he received his lifelong nickname, Fips - and studied at the School of Music there. A multi-instrumentalist, he was hired by Hans Busch to play with his orchestra at the age of 16 before serving as a bandsman in the German Navy during World War II, and while a prisoner in Denmark near the end of the war, he formed his own big band. 

After his release, the band toured Allied officers' clubs in Germany--about the only venues available at the time. In 1945 Kaempfert met his future wife, Hannelore. It was love at first sight and they got married on 14 August the following year. Daughter Marion was born.

Kaempfert was soon busy with radio and studio commitments and over the next ten years, he became one of the top producers in Germany, introducing such continental stars as Freddy Quinn and Ivo Robic. He honed his songwriting skills and even provided a couple of tunes for Elvis Presley's movie, "G.I. Blues."

His most noteworthy production credit was perhaps not his most musically successful, but it will keep his name in the record books for the next millennium or so. In early 1961, Polydor contracted with Tony Sheridan, a British vocalist stranded, like the Beatles, trying to make enough money to get back home from Hamburg. Sheridan asked to be backed by the Beatles. Sheridan recorded "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and "When the Saints Go Marching In"; the Beatles recorded "Ain't She Sweet" and George's tip of the hat to the Shadows, "Cry for a Shadow." Kaempfert was unimpressed with their work and released the single under the name of "The Beat Brothers," but these tracks would go down as the Beatles' first commercial releases.

                             

Kaempfert was winding down his A&R chores by then. His recording of his tune, "Wonderland By Night" reached #1 in the US charts in 1961, and he decided to concentrate on his orchestra and recordings. Between 1959 and 1973, Kaempfert released over 30 albums for Decca.

Kaempfert was primarily a studio performer--his band rarely toured or appeared live. Many of his albums feature the melody played by trumpeter Fred Moch, and bassist Ladi Geisler laying down Kaempfert's signature rhythm line. Kaempfert and Geisler developed a special technique of plucking the string and then suppressing any sustenato, which gave the bass beat a particularly punchy sound--it's one of the strongest beats in pop music. Without it, Kaempfert would have sounded like just about any other light pop orchestra. Its effect was instantly addictive.

Kaempfert also enjoyed remarkable success as a composer. Two of his songs--"Spanish Eyes" and "Strangers in the Night"--are listed by BMI as having had over 4 million airplays. "Spanish Eyes" was originally recorded as an instrumental, "Moon Over Naples," but lyrics were added several years later, and Al Martino had a Top 10 hit with it as a vocal number. Frank Sinatra topped that with "Strangers in the Night," which would be his biggest hit until "New York, New York," over a decade later.

Wayne Newton's biggest hit came with his cover of Kaempfert's "Danke Schoen," and "Swingin' Safari" was a staple of supermarket music and provided background music for countless home movies of summer vacations. Virtually all his albums include at least 2-3 Kaempfert originals, which adds up to a considerable body of work over the span of his recordings. In fact, a number of artists recorded all-Kaempfert albums, including Anita Kerr, Al Hirt, Bobby Hackett, Johnny Mathis, and Hildegarde Knef.

By the early 1970s, Kaempfert's musical success as assured, and he was able to pursue his own interests. He bought a large estate on Majorca and spent long vacations there, and he returned to his first love, big band music. He updated numerous swing era classics in his later albums and even brought over U.S. jazz musicians such as Herb Geller to play with him. And he began to tour regularly with a live band. 

His last performance, for a full house at the Royal Albert Hall, included four encores, leaving Kaempfert to tell the audience, "I’d be happy to continue, but I haven’t got any more music scores and my musicians are thirsty!"

A few days later Bert Kaempfert suddenly died in his Majorcan home as the result of a stroke. It was a severe shock - not only for his family and friends. The whole world of music mourned his loss and everybody was deeply shaken by his premature death.     (Info mainly from Spaceagepop)